Overslam bumpers, bumper wedges, and other cushioning contact apparatus are used in vehicle closure systems to counteract over travel of vehicle closures during closing to prevent contact between the closure, for example, a liftgate, and the portion of the vehicle receiving the closure, for example, the liftgate opening. One or both of the liftgate and liftgate opening may include an appearance surface, a fascia, trim, a lamp or other components which may be damaged or degraded by unintended contact during closing of the liftgate, or when the vehicle is subjected to other forces causing movement of the closure in contact with the closure interface, such as undamped or excessive vibration, road input, or other misaligning forces. Contact damage may include coating and surface abrasion, paint chipping, etc. of the interfacing surfaces.
Bumper, wedge or other systems which rely on contact to limit and/or cushion a closure during a closing event may wear, rub and/or abrade at the contacting surfaces, or may squeak, rattle, age, lose cushioning capacity, or otherwise deteriorate during vehicle operation. As the contact bumper wears, the alignment of the closure to the closure interface may deteriorate such that clearance gaps and surface offsets may change, negatively affecting vehicle appearance, fit, finish and closure opening and closing efforts. Due to dimensional variation of the bumper components and the vehicle during build and over the time of vehicle operation, bumper and other contact type bumper systems may be difficult to install and maintain, often generating fit, noise, and wear issues.